


my fam is more than family (love you, dorks)

by LilithStarlight



Series: chan's foolproof step-by-step guide to self care and coping [6]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Insecurity, Misunderstandings, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic smooches, Shenanigans, Stray Kids are Family, Sweet Bang Chan, also not a focal point but, and as always, and minhcan is a Necessity, and so does felix!, bang chan wants a hug, bc he Is no i don't take criticisms, bc it's MY alternate skzverse non-au, but he and jisung are Good Brothers :'3, changbin CUTE, hello i'm back again, hyunjin just wants to sleep, i just really wanted to write about some of them and ~embellish~, i made chan a bit sad sorry fam, midnight snacks and even more shenanigans :D, on to the tags:, rated t for han jisung's potty mouth, seungmin is a shenaniganizer, the gentlest of pranks :3, these one shots are all based on stories skz themselves have talked about, very very very mild injury, yes it's very much speculation. hope you like it!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilithStarlight/pseuds/LilithStarlight
Summary: The one where SKZ loves each other.No really, that’s it.Okay I’ll give a real summary.See also; Ever wonder about those random stories SKZ tell during lives and interviews that make you go “oh, I want to know more!”, or “woah, that’s interesting”, or just “… huh?”? Well, me too! So I decided to Speculate™ and make stories based on those random stories!See also, also; Yes, this is 99.99% speculation. The .01% is just the fact that we know these events exist. On that note, if you have any events you want me to investigate/write about, lemme know!(Title from Stray Kids - FAM!)
Relationships: Bang Chan & Han Jisung | Han, Bang Chan & Lee Felix, Bang Chan & Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin & Kim Seungmin
Series: chan's foolproof step-by-step guide to self care and coping [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788208
Comments: 36
Kudos: 98





	1. misunderstandings, misgivings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was inspired by that story jisung told,,, idr where but it was on an amino page lmaoo but it's the one where he and some other trainees were practicing and one of them did a flip wrong and jisung was the one who got hurt. i just took it from there, probably some of the details got mixed up but i hope you enjoy!

Jisung has no idea what the names of the other trainees are. Well, for the most part at least. Most of them are new, but he does recognize a couple that had joined the same time he did. And last he checked, Jeongin is somewhere on the other side of the room.

But, yeah, other than that, no idea who pretty much any of these kids are. He looks around, trying to place names to faces, until his gaze lands on a group nearby that seem to be his age, maybe a little older. They keep bragging about all the gymnastics and stunts they can do.

He holds in a scoff at their attitude, acting like they know everything already.

Okay, yeah, maybe Jisung himself can be a little bit… arrogant, at times, but it’s only about the things he knows he can do! He’s not gonna sell himself short.

These kids, though…

Jisung can barely stop himself from rolling his eyes the more he thinks about it. Maybe those trainees _can_ do those stunts, but wouldn’t it be better to prove that you can do it first before claiming that you’re the great at it? That’s what Jisung does.

A moment later, he hears one of them make a bold claim.

“I can do a killer back handspring. Anytime, honest.” When one of his friends snickers he huffs, before smirking. “Y’know what? I could do it after dancing for at least an hour, wanna bet? First break we get, I’ll show you all.” His grin only gets more smug when the crowd cheers him own.

Jisung actually rolls his eyes this time. That’s just dangerous, asking for an injury honestly. He tries to just ignore them after that, already tired of their antics.

His wish that practice will start soon is granted when Chan walks in, followed by their dance instructors. Jisung feels himself smile genuinely at Chan’s awkward greeting, bowing slightly to everyone with stiff movements.

Chan must not be used to this crowd yet. He’s always a little awkward around new trainees; as good as he is at striking up conversations with literally anyone, when he has to _show_ that he’s in a position of power of any kind, he gets a little flustered. And with his seniority in both age and experience, he’s often called in to be a leader and good example toward the new recruits. This leads to Chan chuckling nervously and fidgeting a lot more than normal. Jisung thinks it’s cute. He stands up straighter when Chan clears his throat to address the room.

“So umm… today we’re going to go over the short choreos without music we learned yesterday.” He glances back at the instructors even though he’s doing fine. “Uh, then we’re going team by team to check progress on the song choreos you’ve been assigned.” He steps back, shifting on his feet until one of the instructors gives him a nod of approval and takes his place. Soon after, the practice starts.

The short choreos go by fairly quickly – they are short, after all, Jisung finds himself thinking – and they have two minutes to drink some water before they start the next part of practice.

From the last evaluation, they’d been placed in groups that gave them choreography from well-known songs by senior artists, the purpose being to provide a challenge regardless of skill level. Jisung was placed in a group with Jeongin to work on Growl, which makes him happy; his dancing has gotten way better, and this goes to show it.

Of course, at the same time, he’s a little irked that he can look over at the group learning Sherlock and see _Hwang Hyunjin_ , whose dance ability, he has to begrudgingly admit, has drastically improved. (His dancing is now amazing, actually, but you didn’t hear it from Jisung.)

But whatever, his grudge against the boy is something he can address at a later date.

Right now, he has to stand in formation and wait for it to be his group’s turn to perform for their instructors. It kinda sucks, he wishes they could sit against the wall while they wait, but it’s something about “maintaining vigilance and stamina in any way they can” or some other bullshit. It seems to work, much to Jisung’s distress.

Finally, after an hour and a half of groups performing, receiving criticisms and performing again while the instructors take notes, they’re granted a break. Jisung all but sprints to the water, jumping in place as he swallows each mouthful. It helps get some of the post-performance jitters out, along with the need to move after standing still for so long.

When his water bottle is pretty much drained, he sets it down and walks back to his spot from the beginning of class. He’s tempted to jog in place to keep himself pumped when he hears the sound of cheers and boasting once again.

That trainee from earlier was apparently serious about doing a back handspring. Soon, if the way he’s gesturing for his friends to back up is anything to go off of.

Jisung is behind him. Far enough away to avoid injury, probably, but suddenly torn between wanting to leave to grab Chan and make him stop and wanting to be near him in case his foolish endeavor ends up with him on the floor and in need of a hand. He hesitates, deciding he should probably let Chan know what’s happening, and takes a few steps forward before turning to get out of his path. Surely, that kid isn’t going to try a stunt right now, before he’s let himself actually rest.

Jisung was wrong, as it turns out.

Before Jisung can get completely out of the way, he catches movement in the corner of his eye, and he whips around to see the trainee doing a flip right at him. He leaps backward, and luckily misses getting hit.

Before he can breathe a sigh of relief, one of the other kids belatedly shrieks when they think Jisung is about to be knocked down, and the already wobbly trainee stumbles his landing. He trips over himself and his feet slip out from underneath him. He’s going to fall over.

Jisung lunges forward and catches him on his way down. It’s not enough to stop him completely, but the trainee has a cushioned landing – which, unfortunately, is Jisung, who bangs his elbow on the ground and feels the wind knocked out of him at the same time. The trainee scrambles away quickly, looking at Jisung fearfully before crawling over to him.

“Dude, why were you right behind me?” the trainee asks nervously, cocky attitude from earlier nowhere to be seen.

Jisung inhales sharply, trying to breathe through the pain. It’s not that bad, and he can feel that he’s not seriously injured, but it’s a shock.

“Was gonna walk somewhere else, didn’t think you were gonna flip yet,” he gasps out. The trainee sighs, then offers a hand. Holding his hurt arm close to himself Jisung grabs the hand using his other arm, and the trainee pulls him to a sitting position.

Just when Jisung has control of his breathing, Chan is there, dashing toward them and falling to his knees next to him and the trainee. Looking up, Jisung sees Jeongin standing behind them, looking worried.

Jisung opens his mouth to ask Chan for help, only to realize Chan is already talking.

To the trainee.

“Are you alright, kid?” he asks softly. The trainee nods, looking relieved that he wasn’t being scolded and guilty that he had caused an incident.

While it makes sense that Chan would check on the trainee to make sure he wasn’t hurt, especially since he was new, Jisung tries not to be offended that Chan hadn’t made sure he was okay first. It’s just… he and Chan have known each other way longer! They’ve been trainees together – hell, they’ve been good friends! – for nearly a year now, and he doesn’t think to check on Jisung? Does he even know this new guy’s name??

“That’s great, Junseo. I’m glad you’re okay. You’ve got to be more careful though, alright? You could have gotten hurt,” Chan reprimands him gently.

Fine, maybe he _does_ know the kid’s name. Of course he does.

Jisung huffs, not really caring that it isn’t quiet. Yeah, the trainee could have gotten hurt. But he didn’t! And if his throbbing elbow is anything to go by, _Jisung did_! He knows it’s a little selfish, but right now… right now, it feels like Chan doesn’t even care about him.

Chan heard Jisung’s frustration, it turns out, and he turns to face him after he’s done making sure the trainee… _Junseo_ , is completely fine.

“Yes, Jisung?” Chan asks, looking puzzled.

Unbelievable. _Unbelievable_!

Logically, Jisung knows, Chan probably heard that a new trainee tried a flip and he fell over. Chan probably doesn’t know that Jisung is part of the reason Junseo almost fell over but also the reason he had avoided getting hurt. Chan probably doesn’t know that Jisung is in pain right now and he just wants to feel better and wants his friend, his _brother_ at this point, to show that he cares.

But Jisung _is_ in pain, and another trainee being careless got him hurt, and it’s so upsetting that Chan’s acting like Jisung is just some random passerby.

So Jisung huffs again and bites back the harshest words that come to mind, instead settling for something that will hopefully get through to Chan.

“I’m fine too, if you care enough to check in,” he says moodily. And okay, maybe he meant to be a little less snappy, but his elbow fucking hurts!

Chan only looks more confused, and his eyebrows furrow.

“I’m glad you’re not hurt, that’s good…” he says, trailing off slightly. He looks over to Junseo and tells him to resume his break. Junseo scrambles to stand, bows, and takes his friends with him to take a water break against the wall. Even Jeongin takes the hint and walks away, giving them both one last nervous glance before he’s gone.

Once he’s gone and the area is fairly clear, Chan turns back to Jisung. He looks like he’s thinking, and Jisung doesn’t care anymore. He cuts off his train of thought with a scoff.

“So you’re going to make sure the guy who nearly hit me is fine before you even look at me?” he asks icily.

“Jisung… what?” Chan looks even more lost. It only makes Jisung angrier.

“It’s fine, it’s not like you’ve known me for longer or anything. You can go ahead and care about some stranger more than me,” Jisung spits out. It feels like he’s spitting acid with each word, his mouth tastes bitter and sour even as he says them. But he’s not going to take them back.

Chan narrows his eyes.

“What has gotten into you?” he says. “You know that’s not true.”

“Well, fucking act like it then!” Jisung hisses.

Chan finally snaps. It wouldn’t be notable to most people, but Jisung can tell the difference immediately. He’s crossed a line.

“Jisung,” Chan whispers. It’s dangerously quiet. “I know you’re upset, but you do _not_ get to talk to me like that. Take time to cool off if you need, but that attitude needs to go.” He pauses for a moment to close his eyes. When he opens them his gaze is hard, uncompromising.

Jisung knows it’s the wrong thing to do, but he does it anyway.

He scoffs again. Then he stands up, holding his still stinging arm close to his chest, ignoring the way that some of the trainees are very obviously trying to figure out what’s wrong without looking at him for too long. He bites back a growl and glares at Chan one last time before turning tail, grabbing his bag, and storming out of the practice room.

(He doesn’t register the way that Chan’s gaze had changed, now confused, hurt, unsure.)

And as he races back to the dorms, he doesn’t look back.

Jisung blinks the tears out of his eyes as he lays on his back in bed, facing the bunk above his. The tears, caused by anger with a touch of remorse, don’t fall.

When he had stomped into his room earlier, he’d stood in the doorway briefly before throwing his bag down and dropping himself face-down onto his bed with enough force to shake the entire bunk. At the time, he didn’t care. He had just let out a frustrated groan into his pillow and cursed at everything in his mind that made him more angry.

Now… he’s still angry, of course. His elbow _still_ hurts, to be honest. It's probably bruised. And he’s still annoyed at the way Chan had practically ignored him in favor of Junseo.

Even so, he regrets taking out all of his frustrations on Chan, even if he is upset with him. Chan was just doing his job.

 _Maybe_ , Jisung thinks with a humorless chuckle, _this is where Chan realizes that I’m just going to irritate him and make him angry with me_. _Maybe we aren’t meant to work together after all, I mean he clearly cares about the other trainees more anyway_.

A knock on the door jolts him out of his bitter thoughts. He clears his throat.

“Yes?” he calls, trying to be polite no matter how frustrated he is right now.

“Jisung, can I come in?”

It’s fucking Chan. Of course it is.

Jisung wonders for a second if Chan had just gotten here or if he had followed after him and waited until now. Either way, he left practice early, and Jisung feels a small pang of guilt over it – Chan’s losing precious time learning how to lead practices just to talk to Jisung. But he’s still upset, and he wants an explanation for everything.

So Jisung sighs and sits up to face the door.

“Come in,” he calls, sounding bored and annoyed even to himself.

The door creaks open, and Chan pokes his head in.

He looks tired, for one thing. And upset. And… sad. Huh. Jisung tries not to care knowing that he’s helped make Chan sad. He does anyway.

“Can I… Can I come sit with you?” he asks timidly, and it’s such a turnaround from how he’d sounded earlier that it almost gives Jisung whiplash. Slightly stunned, Jisung only nods, and Chan in return back before making his way into the room.

He gently lowers himself onto the bed. He won’t meet Jisung’s eyes, instead looking at where his hands are fiddling with the hem of his hoodie.

Jisung doesn’t really have anything he wants to say to Chan – he’s not ready to, to be honest – so he just waits.

Only a minute later, Chan finally glances up at him before going back to fidgeting, picking at his nails. Jisung can’t place the emotion that was behind his eyes in that moment, but it’s familiar.

“Ji…” he starts after another second. “Are you okay?”

Jisung blinks. He wasn’t expecting that. Still, he’s annoyed, so he huffs.

“Bit late for that, isn’t it?” he mutters. He tries to ignore the way Chan winces. He can’t. “I mean, I’m fine now. My elbow hurts from where I landed on it, but that’s it,” he tacks on, tone softening.

Chan takes another moment to look up at him again, and this time he holds his gaze.

“Ji, I’m sorry about earlier, I just…” he trails off. Jisung isn’t sure where this is going. He does feel a little better already at the recognition and apology, honestly, so really all he wants is that explanation. Chan sighs then, and Jisung might be about to get what he asked for.

“I’ve known you for nearly a year, right?” He waits for Jisung to nod before he continues. “In that whole time I’ve known you, you never wanted anyone to show you pity or treat you differently for being younger or for your own, amazing, unique way of doing things that nobody else really understands.” He chuckles softly, probably remembering something. Then he shakes his head, frowning slightly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t check on you at first, Jisungie. I assumed you wouldn’t want me to treat you differently than I would treat the others in that moment, even if you had gotten hurt. And I knew that I needed to make sure Junseo knew that we care about him but that what he did was dangerous and that he should never do that again.

“Mostly, though, I assumed that you wouldn’t want me to… I dunno, fuss over you in front of everyone. I’m sorry I made that assumption for you, I shouldn’t have. That was wrong for me to do, and I’m sorry that I hurt you too,” he says, voice thick with emotions.

 _Oh_ , is all Jisung can think. He looks away, gathering his thoughts. He comes to a realization after a moment, and it makes his heart pang again.

It wasn’t that Chan didn’t care. It’s that he _did_ , so much so that he paid close attention to the way Jisung had reacted in similar situations and wanted to predict his needs and accommodate him. This time just didn’t go the way Chan had thought they would, and it took Jisung storming out for him to realize.

When Jisung doesn’t respond, still thinking it over, Chan speaks up again.

“I’m sorry I made you think I don’t care, please don’t think that. I care about you, so much,” he whispers, softly, distressed.

Jisung whips around to look at him, and is surprised to see how genuinely upset he looks at the thought that he’d hurt Jisung in any way.

“Chan…” Jisung starts softly. He huffs, thinking through what he wants to say.

“I know you care, Channie. I was… I shouldn’t have said that earlier, I know you care. I’m sorry. I was angry because I thought you were ignoring me, or that you cared more about someone else,” he admits. “I was hurt, literally, and I wanted you to know… I wanted you to help, but you weren’t even looking at me.”

He realizes he’s looked away from Chan and looks up again to meet his gaze. He looks small, hunched over in his hoodie and biting his lip absentmindedly. Jisung sighs.

As much as he was hurt before, and as much as he’s glad Chan apologized and explained his side, he knows Chan had good intentions and this is mostly a misunderstanding. He should probably say something to him… but what? How on earth does he reassure and comfort someone that always reassures and comforts him? How does Chan do it so well? Jisung has no idea.

He has to try _something_ though, so… here goes nothing.

“Chan I… well, first, I forgive you. You were uh… you were just looking out for me, like how I normally would react? It makes sense, why you did it,” he stumbles to get out. When Chan tilts his head at him, looking more confused than upset now, Jisung figures he’s kind of on the right track, at least. He takes a deep breath.

“What I mean is, you always do so much, y’know, looking out for everyone all the time? And uhm… and despite how much you have to do, you know me well enough that you knew exactly how I would normally respond to that kind of situation. It just… didn’t happen like that this time around. So, I was hurt, but I don’t really blame you.” He offers Chan a small smile. “I think just… make sure to check _how_ I need help next time, would probably help.”

Chan’s staring at him, wide-eyed. Jisung gets a little nervous at his lack of response and wonders if he said something wrong until Chan finally speaks up again.

“You…” he says, and Jisung holds his breath, wondering how he’s going to reply. He bites his lip, waiting, and then-

“You forgive me?” Chan asks hesitantly, like he wasn’t expecting it.

Oh, _ouch_. Jisung thinks he hears his own heart snap a little. It’s moments like this that he remembers – it becomes glaringly obvious, really – that even with as much experience as Chan has, he’s barely three years older than Jisung. He’s still a teenager, like Jisung is, still unsure of his place in the world.

He’s still young and scared of messing up, of losing people close to him and wondering if it was his fault.

So, Jisung smiles again, a little sadly but determined; he needs Chan to know that he means what he said.

“Yeah, of course I do,” he says emphatically. “I care about you too. We just… misunderstood each other today, I think is a good word for it.”

When Chan blinks a few times, Jisung adds, “Besides, what would I do without my coolest older brother that’s not actually related to me?”

That gets Chan to laugh, just slightly, but it breaks the tension surrounding them that Jisung hadn’t noticed was there.

Eventually, Chan nods absently, sighing softly.

“I think misunderstandings is the right word for it, yeah,” he says, chuckling slightly. “And yeah, like you said, I can definitely try to communicate better. That’ll help… yeah,” he trails off.

“Communication is sexy,” Jisung muses. Chan snorts, and the last of the tension drains away completely.

“Should we have regular awkward family meetings, do you think?” Chan proposes, leaning back to lay on the bed and grab one of Jisung’s fluffy pillows.

“Might as well,” Jisung says agreeably. Then he grins. “Maybe we could get Jeongin in on it too, I love that kid.”

“He’s like, half a year younger than you,” Chan points out. To Jisung’s mock-annoyance, Chan continues, “That would make you a kid also, I hope you know.”

“How dare you, I’m fifteen,” Jisung says petulantly.

“That’s what they all say,” Chan replies sagely. Then he shrieks and scrambles to cover his face when Jisung decides to launch his other pillow at him.

If an all-out pillow war for two starts and they forget completely about returning to practice, that’s for them to know.

(Chan mentions later that he had managed to get himself and Jisung the rest of the afternoon off, and Jisung immediately tackles him in a hug. It’s safe to say that they’re both ready to move forward and keep looking out for each other.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chansung best boys :D


	2. scattered showers, high chance of mild confusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka: the Seungjin shower staredown

If someone were to ask one Hwang Hyunjin, he’d tell them _yes, my members are really weird_. But then he’d smile and say that he is too. Yes, he would assure them, even Seungmin.

_Sometimes, especially Seungmin_ , he would think, but he keeps that one to himself.

If Hyunjin ponders it a little more, he comes to a conclusion; it’s not like Seungmin does anything that’s more _wild_ , per se, than the others. It’s just that incredible contrast between his stage persona and what he’s actually like, on and off camera.

He looks fierce as he sings his heart out, his is gaze is calculating when he scans a room with unfamiliar people, he often stands to the side during activities, claiming the others are noisy, and his general aura seems to give off a “don’t fuck with me” vibe.

And yet…

And yet, Seungmin is probably one of the cuddliest people he knows. He’s not _the_ most because the other members of his group exist, making it seem like Seungmin doesn’t actually hug that often – spoiler alert: he totally does.

And yet, Seungmin is quick to poke someone in the cheek when they’re busy or join in on a joke or add sound effects to any moment.

And yet, his quips and teases don’t get in the way of the fact that he’s one of the kindest people Hyunjin has ever met; his eyes are always warm as he stares lovingly at his members from the side (standing next to Chan, who's doing the same), he can often be found helping the others whenever possible, and, although his methods are often odd and indirect, he always knows what to do to cheer his members up.

This doesn’t seem that weird, one might say. Well.

Hyunjin likes to think that Seungmin does odd or silly things just like any other human does. And it’s not the quips or teases that are actually that weird. He does other things too, that are just strange enough to make Hyunjin wonder what might be wandering through his beautiful head. He just loves the way Seungmin does things.

To Hyunjin, Seungmin is something of an enigma, one that he simultaneously understands quite well and one that will never truly make sense – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hyunjin would _also_ like to say that even with all of this laid out in his mind, knowing that odd and silly things are well within the range of possibility for all things related to Kim Seungmin, he would like to add, in his defense, some of the things Seungmin does are still Quite Weird. And unexpected.

And he’ll use the following events as an example.

As Hyunjin tiredly drags himself into the bathroom, nothing really goes through his mind other than his need to get clean and sleep.

That’s all that’s going on in there – the day had been long and tiring and it had wiped all rational thought from his brain.

It’s probably why he makes such a good target for end of the day pranks. But he doesn’t think that. Because he’s _tired_. The lack of realization of this commonality is also probably why it keeps happening. And he doesn’t realize that either.

So when he sheds his clothes and steps into the steaming hot shower, he doesn’t consider that tonight might be a night for another prank. He doesn’t believe anyone might play a small trick on him. He doesn’t once think that anything particularly strange might happen any minute now.

He just stands in the shower for a few seconds, letting himself warm up, before grabbing the shampoo and getting to work.

He does find his eyes blinking open in confusion (he hadn’t realized they’d closed) when the door opens and Seungmin walks in a few minutes later.

Seungmin looks up to see his baffled expression and raises a hand in a wave.

“Just grabbing some stuff, be out soon,” he explains. Hyunjin nods and closes his eyes again, ready to rinse his hair.

This is a normal occurrence, to be honest. They’d long ago stopped caring about things like walking in on each other while showering. Perks of living together for several years.

Once Hyunjin finishes washing up, he lets himself stand under the stream for a few minutes, letting some of the exhaustion seep out and make way for plain old sleepiness.

“Bye,” Seungmin says shortly. Hyunjin has his back to him, but he hears the door open and makes a noise of affirmation in response.

Then the lights go out as soon as the door closes. Hyunjin blinks.

“Seungmin?” he calls. No response.

“Seungmin!” he tries again, louder. Still nothing. He sighs.

He can’t believe he just turned the lights off on him before he was done. Well, actually he kind of can. They’re _all_ tired, maybe Seungmin did it without thinking, flicking the switch on instinct. And maybe he did it on purpose, just to mess with him. He wouldn’t put it past him.

So he just sighs again, turns off the water and turns around. He goes to reach for the shower door.

At that moment, a light clicks on.

Not the overhead light, a small flashlight pointing upward. Oh, and illuminating a face, shadowed eyes staring blankly through Hyunjin and into his soul.

Hyunjin shrieks, scrambling backward until he’s against the wall. After a moment to process the shock, he sighs in relief and exasperation when he realizes it’s just Seungmin; apparently, he’d never left, and had been waiting this whole time just to scare him, the pretty jerk.

“Very funny, Seungmin,” Hyunjin says petulantly. “You’re a real comedian.”

Seungmin doesn’t say anything for a moment, just continues to stare at him with an eerily focused gaze. Hyunjin stares back.

Then Seungmin lifts a hand.

“Gwaauueeghhh!” is the approximate noise he makes, waving his free hand around, and not once changing his deadpan expression.

Hyunjin just sighs again, heart rate more or less back to normal, and ready to sleep.

“You make a compelling argument, Min,” he mumbles. “Mind letting me out to dry off now?” he asks.

It’s then that Seungmin grins, truly _beams_ , and steps back, turning the main light back on and giving Hyunjin an overdramatic curtsy as he opens the shower door for him. He even hands him his towel.

Hyunjin takes it and starts to dry himself off, glancing occasionally at Seungmin who doesn’t move from his curtsy. It can’t be a comfy angle to stand at, but knowing Seungmin it seems he’s committed to this bit now and he’s going to see it through.

Once Hyunjin’s in his pajamas, he turn to face Seungmin fully.

“Are you gonna stand there all night, dork?” he asks. Seungmin straightens up at that, giving him a mock salute, and marches out of the bathroom. Hyunjin blinks, before shaking his head and smiling, then following him out the door.

Walking into their bedroom, he sees Seungmin already lying on his bed, and Hyunjin approaches to grin fondly down at him.

Seungmin looks up to return the smile, then makes grabby hands for Hyunjin to join him. Hyunjin rolls his eyes, also fondly, and throws his towel into the laundry hamper and turns off the lights before settling into bed and joining Seungmin under the covers.

Seungmin curls into him, letting Hyunjin immediately latch onto him like an octopus. They both sigh softly, content.

“Goodnight, Seungminnie, you odd potato,” Hyunjin mumbles against Seungmin’s hair. Seungmin chuckles, a puff of air.

“Goodnight, Hyunnie. You dork,” he murmurs in response.

They’re asleep within minutes.


	3. my sunshine and some warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> takes place post one kid’s room. y'know, the felix bit where they talk about his cuddle habits
> 
> aka; Felix, Dear, Your Platonic Soulmate Wants A Hug

_It means nothing. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not worth worrying about_ , Chan tells himself over and over. It’s a fruitless endeavor.

He sighs internally, perplexed – both with the revelations of today and with himself. He lets himself get lost in thought for a moment before someone is shaking his arm to tell him they’ve arrived at the dorms. Right, home… from where they’d been. He recalls the day’s events as he sluggishly crawls out of the van and heads into the building.

They had recorded the One Kid’s Room program today, and honestly it had been really fun. Right up until one moment that Chan can pick out of his memory, shot for shot, and replay over and over behind his eyes. And it had, every moment he wasn’t able to push it away and smile while talking or listening to the others was spent wondering and pondering what had happened.

What _had_ happened is the realization that Felix doesn’t hug or cuddle with him the same way he does the others. And that’s fine, he tries to tell himself. If Felix doesn’t want to hug him like that, that’s perfectly okay. He’d never make Felix go out of his comfort zone just because he’s confused… and upset.

Upset, he decides, is a good word for it. Not exactly sad, a little bit frustrated (with who, he isn’t sure), feeling jumbled inside because he doesn’t understand _why_.

He puts a pause on his train of thought when he realizes they’re at the front door already. Felix happens to meet his gaze and shoots him a small smile while Changbin punches in the dorm code for them. The door swings open a moment later and Felix is facing forward again, walking in without a backward glance.

 _Does he know that I know?_ Chan wonders. _Would he care?_

 _That_ opens a can of worms he hadn’t even thought about before.

_What if Felix doesn’t trust me enough to come to me with his problems? Did I do something wrong? Hurt him in some way?_

He worries his lip between his teeth as he overthinks every interaction he’s had with Felix that he can recall right now

_Did I tell him once that I don’t like hugs? Should I have gone to him with hugs first?_

The questions seem to have no end, and Chan doesn’t realize he’s completely stopped just inside the doorway until an elbow nudges his arm.

He flinches, looking up so his startled gaze lands on Minho.

“What’s going on in your noggin, babe?” Minho asks quietly, no doubt to make sure the kids aren’t eavesdropping, accidentally or otherwise. “You look like you got food stuck in your throat and you need some water to push it all down.” And the comparison is a little ridiculous, but it’s very Minho, and it gets Chan to laugh, feeling some tension leave his body.

“Just thinking about something that bothered me, it’s nothing too bad and it’ll probably go away soon,” he says, hoping his vagueness would be enough for Minho.

It’s not.

Minho raises an eyebrow before his eyes widen slightly.

“Are you thinking about the cuddling thing with Felix?” he asks carefully. Chan sighs. He forgot his boyfriend could practically read his mind.

“Yeah, it’s the cuddling thing,” he admits.

“What’s got you so bothered about it?” Minho asks. A little blunt, but it’s also very Minho, and sometimes it’s one of the best ways to get Chan to talk about what’s troubling him. So, Chan just sighs again.

“It’s just… I know it’s probably nothing, and maybe he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it, but like… why doesn’t he want to come to me for cuddles or just talking about feelings? Did I make it seem like he couldn’t?” he asks, feeling lost and very unsure.

“I… I dunno, I sound silly when I say it out loud, it’s not like it’s actually a problem,” he rambles when Minho takes a moment to think over his response. “Yeah, it’s probably nothing at all, I dunno why I’m so bothered by it,” He’s cut off from his rambling with a gentle hand cupping his cheek.

“Channie, if you’re bothered by it, it’s not nothing,” he says, firmly but still softly. Chan sighs, leaning into Minho’s touch.

“I know…,” he says quietly. “I’m just… I’m just nervous that I might have made it seem like he couldn’t talk to me about big things in his life, or that I wouldn’t want to hug him for any longer than I had to. So, yeah…” He doesn’t have anything else to say, so he just gestures vaguely as he trails off. Minho hums thoughtfully.

“I’m sorry this is making you so upset,” Minho says first, reaching out for Chan, who lets himself be pulled into Minho’s arms. “Do you want my opinion on what I think would help?” he asks, waiting to continue until Chan nods into his shoulder.

“Baby, this might not be the answer you want to hear, but if this is something that is making you feel upset and hurt, then you should probably go talk to Felix about it. Sooner rather than later,” Minho advises him. Chan sighs again, pressing his face further into the crook of Minho’s neck.

“I hate that you’re so right all the time,” he mumbles eventually, trying to lighten the mood (and brace himself for an incoming Talk). It gets Minho to chuckle. He starts stroking his hands up and down Chan’s back.

“I do try,” he says teasingly, still soft. “But to be fair, you’re usually mostly right,” he concedes. Chan pretends to scoff.

“Only mostly? Damn,” he murmurs.

“Yeah, it’s a harsh world,” Minho teases again. Then he pulls back, hands on Chan’s shoulders and expression looking more serious.

“Really though, please talk to him. Soon, if you can. We have tonight off if you’re up for that,” he tells him. Chan bites his lip before nodding.

“Yeah, okay. Tonight. I can do tonight.”

Minho smiles softly at him and gives him a quick, sweet kiss, and even though Chan relaxes slightly he’s still worried.

Because he’s fine talking to the members about anything; any problem they might have, either giving advice, offering help, or just letting them vent for a while. But what does he do if the problem turns out to be himself?

It takes most of the rest of the evening, right up until halfway through dinner, for Chan to steel himself up enough to text Felix a short message.

_can I talk to u about smth later? just a few questions lol nothing serious_

Felix doesn’t have his phone with him though, so Chan just hopes he’s not sweating from nerves as he waits for everyone to finish eating.

Finally, the table is cleared and Minho glances at Chan briefly before setting everyone but themselves and Felix on cleaning duty. Chan thanks him silently with a squeeze of his hand. Felix, slightly nonplussed but not complaining, gets up and heads to his room.

 _The moment of truth_ , Chan’s overdramatic brain tells him.

His phone pings a moment later.

_haha sure! i’m just sitting in our room come on in :3_

Chan is definitely sweating now. _Why_ is this making him so nervous?

 _Because you’re worried that you hurt Felix in some way, ding dong_ , his mind supplies unhelpfully. _Or that he doesn’t trust you now_.

 _Put a sock in it_ , Chan replies internally, imagining whacking his unwelcome thoughts with a baseball bat. Then he shakes his head before setting off to his shared room. He’s sure that he vibrates the entire way there, but he makes it.

He stands in front of the door for a moment, just taking a few deep, steadying breaths before pushing it open. He spots Felix sitting with his legs dangling off his bed as he checks his phone. _Probably twitter_ , Chan thinks as he shuts the door behind him. It closes with a soft _click_ that has Felix looking up before smiling wide and locking his phone.

“Hey, Channie!” he says brightly, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Chan almost wants to look away, both because Felix is using his signature blinding sunshine smile and because Chan doesn’t want to be the reason Felix feels upset when he could be happy instead. So, he does the next best thing and responds with a weak half-smile and a tiny, “Hi”.

Felix notices immediately how off he’s feeling, because he’s Felix.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, standing up quickly and walking up to Chan. He stands about a foot away, hands hovering as if he’s unsure where they should be. It makes Chan draw his shoulders in slightly before forcing himself to relax.

“Nothing is… wrong, really,” he says slowly, inwardly wincing at how that probably made it sound worse.

“Really?” Felix says skeptically, eyebrow raised. “Cuz you look like someone just told you puppies are illegal.” Chan chuckles, despite everything.

“Promise, it’s not that bad, it’s… it’s a me thing, that’s what, y’know, that’s what the questions are about…” he explains, trailing off. Felix frowns but nods and makes to sit back on the bed. He pats the spot next to him, gesturing for Chan to join him. Chan hesitates, shifting between his feet before finally sitting next to Felix.

“So, questions?” Felix prompts.

“Yeah,” Chan says quietly. _Fuck_ , he got at least three times more nervous just from walking into the room, knowing he’d have to talk soon. Now, sitting right next to Felix, it’s worse. He doesn’t know what to _say_.

What if whatever he says hurts Felix’s feelings? What if he says it wrong and Felix doesn’t understand what he means? Or misinterprets it? What if Felix just thinks he’s being whiny and clingy over something that doesn’t matter?

That one worries him the most.

He’s startled out of his thoughts by Felix speaking up again.

“Channie? You okay?” he asks softly.

Chan nods. His mind is swimming with possibilities, overthinking everything. And nothing’s going to happen if he just sits here, so he has to ignore all his swirling thoughts and say _something_.

“Do you trust me?” he blurts out, instantly regretting the weird, desperate tone he’d used. Felix blinks, confused.

“Of course I do, what do you mean?” he asks. “Did I say something that made you think I didn’t?”

Chan shakes his head vehemently.

“No, it’s not you, it’s something on my end, I just…” he rambles before taking a short breath. “Sorry, I asked the wrong question. Umm… I’m gonna try again?” he says kind of like a question. He continues when Felix nods encouragingly.

“Do you… umm… Today, in the One Kid’s Room, uh… they said something that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about,” he finally gets out.

Felix makes a noise of affirmation, before asking, “What did they say?”

Chan hesitates. _This_ is the moment of truth, he realizes. He has nothing left to do but just tell Felix how he feels. He takes a deep breath, exhales slowly.

“They said that whenever you want to talk to someone for a while, whether it’s about life or your troubles… they said that you go to them and then when you’re done you hug them for a long time?” he says, hating how his voice sounds so unsure. “So umm… I was just…. I was wondering if I had done or said something that would make you think you couldn’t come to me if you needed some help?”

Felix blinks several times, clearly not expecting what Chan had just told him.

“You haven’t,” Felix says. “You’ve done nothing but show that you care for all of us, and I trust you with my life, not gonna lie. So… yeah, it’s not that,” he admits with a small smile.

“Then… then you…” Chan can’t finish the sentence for a moment, too confused by this revelation. He shakes his head, some of his words coming back to him. “Then why… I mean you don’t have to, it would be nice to know just… I’m wondering why you-…” Felix cuts him off gently.

“Why I don’t do the long talks and cuddles with you?” Chan nods, looking down and feeling almost ashamed. When he doesn’t reply more than that, Felix sighs. _Is he disappointed_? Chan’s wonders.

Then Felix speaks.

“Channie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to feel… left out or anything, or like I don’t trust you,” Felix says, quiet yet sincere. “I didn’t want to come to you with any troubles because you’re already busy, and I didn’t want to bother you or make you lose rest.”

“You never bother me, especially not with stuff like that,” Chan says earnestly, meeting his gaze. Felix smiles softly at him.

“I know. I just didn’t want to cause you any more stress than you already had, but I guess my assumptions caused a problem.” Chan shakes his head again, eyebrows furrowing.

“No, Lix, it’s not… it’s not a problem, I was just wondering what was going on. I’m sorry if I made you feel like you should come to me even if you don’t want to, or hug me if you’re not comfortable, that’s not… sorry,” he says, suddenly quiet. Felix seems to understand that he needs a moment to think things through. A minute passes before Chan speaks up again.

“Sorry I made such a deal about it, I think… I think I really was just worried I had done something that made you feel uneasy talking to me about things, and maybe…” he bites his lip. After that moment to process, he thinks he gets it now; he gets what this is really all about. He brings his knees up to his chest and rests his chin on them. He can’t meet Felix’s gaze just yet.

“I guess I just didn’t realize I wanted to cuddle with you more, and I felt bad that I wasn’t. I think I was upset that you maybe thought I wouldn’t want to cuddle with you, or… or that I made you uncomfortable around me.”

He laughs suddenly, no real humor in his voice.

“Basically just a big wad of insecurities got to me and I got worried over a misunderstanding. Sorry about that.”

There’s no response for a long time, and the silence is killing him. Several agonizing seconds go by before he glances up to meet Felix’s eyes again, surprised at what he finds – Felix looking at him calculatingly, not quit pityingly but maybe sadly, and… like something just clicked into place for him.

Finally, Felix exhales softly.

“Do you want to start now?” he asks. When Chan can only tilt his head at him in confusion, he chuckles before he continues.

“I mean, you just came to tell me your problems, and we had a talk. Do you want to cuddle now?”

And it’s such a Felix way of doing it, of coming to a simple solution, of assuring Chan that he knows what he means, what he wants.

Chan pauses for a split second before he’s nodding rapidly. Then he yelps as Felix tackles him sideways. They have a mini wrestling match that Chan could easily win, but he lets Felix take victory and flop on top of him in the end. A giggle fit later and Felix rolls off to the side before wrapping his arms around Chan. Chan returns the gesture.

It’s nice, having Felix’s warmth around him to help him feel grounded. He takes a few deep breaths, closing his eyes and feeling less nervous than before, now more relaxed.

A few moments later, Felix breaks the near silence.

“Channie?” he says gently. Chan hums in response, opening his eyes to meet Felix’s.

“You don’t have to be sorry for feeling left out. And you don’t have to apologize for your feelings,” he says, and Chan shrinks slightly under his gaze.

“I know…” he says in a small voice. “Thank you, Lixie. For reminding me,” he adds.

“Of course,” Felix replies easily. “Needing more affection doesn’t bother me. I think we’ve had this conversation before, too,” he says with a chuckles. Chan rolls his eyes fondly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Then his expression softens. “Still, thank you. I was worried I was being silly, but… thank you for taking it seriously and explaining everything. I appreciate it.”

Felix shimmies up and kisses his forehead before grinning down at him.

“I appreciate you,” he says. “If I need talks with you, I’ll let you know. And if I just want cuddles with you, I’ll let you know too.” When he sees Chan nodding, he pokes his nose.

“And the same goes for you. If you need me, or just want to hang out, you can always say so, and if I’m free then I’ll probably be down.”

Chan smiles. He feels a lot warmer now, worries pretty much all gone, and he snuggles further into Felix’s hold.

“Of course, Lixie,” he replies, closing his eyes and letting himself relax entirely.

He doesn’t mean to, but he falls asleep only minutes later, tucked under Felix’s chin.

Felix, on the other hand, still very awake, slowly pulls out his phone to take a selfie to send to their group chat.

 _sleepy cuddles with Channie <3_, he sends along with the photo. Minho sends an approving thumbs up and some heart stickers, followed by Hyunjin and Changbin yelling about how cute their leader is. The rest follow suit, commenting on how adorable he looks sleeping.

Felix smiles to himself as he pockets his phone.

While he is a little sad that he hadn’t thought through just how much Chan would be affected by missing out on hugs, he’s glad that he came to him to talk about it. Now he can start making up for lost cuddle time.

Starting now, of course, and Felix hugs Chan closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> projecting on chan again? on my speculation fic?? it's more likely than you think
> 
> also i need u all to know that i had to resist writing “chan could snap that twink” during the play wrestling. b/c he could, he could snap that twink in half. but with Love
> 
> uh anyway! i love cuddles and i love skz, what a coincidence!! if anyone wants cuddles,,, lemme know i'll send virtual cuddles on the Spot


	4. sunny side all the way down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka the binchan egg incident of 2020  
> also i made it almost disgustingly soft help

It might be midnight. Probably. Changbin isn’t really sure.

What he _is_ sure of is that he’s been working for a while and now he’s hungry. As he stumbles into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes tiredly, he wonders about what he should eat. He doesn’t bother to turn the light on just yet, waiting for his eyes to adjust. After a minute, he blinks into the darkness, only seeing faint light from the window and an LED glow from somewhere nearby. Someone probably left their tablet on, he can turn it off later.

He stretches slightly, then turns back to the matter at hand.

Unfortunately, dinner had been _devoured_ earlier, so he’ll have to make something new. Probably nothing too wild since it _is_ probably midnight, after all. But the question is: what?

He sighs, making his way to the fridge and feeling around in the dark until his hand latches onto the handle. He pulls the door open and starts looking through it. He doesn’t find anything promising, so he sighs again and looks through the second fridge. He hums, which sounds more like a grumble with his voice a little rough from disuse, before his gaze lands on a carton of boiled eggs. He shrugs. _That’ll do_.

He grabs the carton, then crosses the room and places it by the stove. He squints down at the counter, no longer really able to see where he’d just put the eggs. He exhales softly. He’ll have to go turn the light on now.

Muscle memory guides him back to the light switch, and it flicks it on after a moment to find the exact location. Absentmindedly, he wonders about the tablet now that the lights are on. He can probably see whose it is and shut it off now.

Squinting at the still overly bright room, he turns around to look at where he’d last seen it.

And has to stifle a shriek as he sees Chan behind sitting at the table behind his laptop, eyes fixed on him with an amused smile on his lips. He’s even propping his head up on his palm.

“Don’t _scare_ me like that!” Changbin whines. He places a hand on his heart, feeling it steadily slow.

“Evening, Binnie,” Chan says, vaguely smug smirk still in place. “Was wondering when you were gonna turn the light on.”

Changbin stares at him.

“How long have you been there?” he asks incredulously.

“Since dinner,” Chan says, smile still in place as he turns back to his laptop. “I’ve been working on the same thing for a while, figured you guys might be asleep so I stayed out here.”

“Ah,” is all Changbin says. He wrinkles his nose. “You should go to bed then since I’ll be out here for a bit.”

Chan grins at him, all teeth (and his cute little dimples).

“It’s all good. I’m still working, so I’ll just stay out here for a while longer,” he says brightly.

_How the_ fuck _are you so energetic right now?_ Changbin wonders to himself.

“It’s not that late,” Chan says with a chuckle. “I’ve probably got a few hours left until I actually get tired.”

Changbin blinks in surprise before he narrows his eyes slightly.

“Did you read my mind?” he asks. Chan laughs again, even harder.

“No, you asked me.”

“… Oh.”

Chan’s eyes sparkle slightly as he giggles at Changbin’s confusion. Changbin is almost disgusted with how ecstatic Chan seems to just to talk to him despite it being ass o’clock. (And by almost disgusted he means very endeared.)

So Changbin just sighs again.

“Guess I’m more tired than I thought,” he admits.

“Guess so,” Chan agrees. “What are you planning on making?” he asks suddenly, making Changbin blink as he remembers why he came to the kitchen in the first place.

“Oh, eggs. Gonna just… eat these boiled eggs,” he says. Chan nods, grinning again.

“Good luck with that,” he says brightly.

“Why did you make it sound so ominous?” Changbin pretends to shudder. “It’s just eggs.”

“Sure is, Binnie,” Chan says, nodding sagely before turning back to his laptop.

“If you think I can’t do it, why don’t you do it for me then?” Changbin challenges suddenly.

Chan glances up at him again, amused smile once more in place.

“Do what for you?” he asks slyly.

Changbin huffs. He’s not actually annoyed, but he is definitely tired, which is exemplified especially with his next response.

“Cook my eggs for me.”

In the silence that follows, Changbin physically feels like an ellipsis appears above his head. Chan is pressing his lips together tightly, mirth in his eyes and clearly holding back his laughter.

“Cook your eggs?” Chan asks after a moment, still keeping his himself from laughing. “You want me to cook your already boiled eggs?”

Changbin huffs again, louder.

“You _know_ what I meant, Channie!” he exclaims exasperatedly.

“ _Do I_ know what you meant?” Chan continues to tease him with a wide smile. Changbin whines. He knows he’s whining, and he doesn’t _care_.

“You do, smartass,” he complains under his breath. Chan hears it, of course, and snickers at him. He huffs again, still whining, “Please, peel my eggs for me?”

“Binnie, I taught you how to peel your eggs already. I know you know how to do that. So, no, I won’t,” Chan says, still chuckling. “You can do it, I believe in you.” He sends Changbin one last smile, complete with eye scrunchies, before turning back to his laptop.

Changbin sighs, loud and long suffering.

“Fine, I’ll peel my own eggs. Go ahead and leave me high and dry over here, what do I care?” he grumbles. Chan snorts – actually _snorts_! – at him but doesn’t respond other than that.

Changbin pouts but doesn’t push it. Instead, he sighs again before opening the carton. Pulling an egg out, he realizes suddenly that he hasn’t actually thought through anything else he wants to do with his eggs. Should he eat it plain? Mix it up with something? He scrunches his face slightly thinking about the extra effort that would be, so he settles for some salt.

He places the egg on counter, near the carton, before turning around and crossing the room. Just as he’s reaching into cupboard and grabbing the salt container, he hears a sudden dull _SPLACK_.

Changbin blinks. Nothing fell out of the cupboard, and even something did it probably wouldn’t make that noise anyway, would it? Maybe he’s so exhausted he’s hearing things now. Shaking his head, he turns back around.

The first thing he notices is Chan, peering around the side of his laptop and staring at the ground. The next thing he notices, when he follows Chan’s line of sight, is his egg. His beautiful egg. Now on the floor. Shattered. _Destroyed_.

Okay, it’s not that bad, just covered in cracks from the impact point, but _still_.

After a moment to just stare at the egg in disbelief, he looks up at Chan, unsurprised when Chan glances up to meet his gaze. Then they both look at the egg again. Then at each other once again.

Chan cracks ( _ha_ , Changbin thinks) first, covering his mouth with his hand as his shoulders start shaking. Soon, he’s buried his face in both hands as he laughs uncontrollably, taking care to keep the volume down and in the process doing that breathy, squeaky laugh of his. The one that makes Changbin smile and laugh along with him, and right now is not an exception as he starts giggling.

It’s really not that funny, but maybe being pretty overly tired makes everything eight times more hilarious than normal.

Eventually, they both calm down, and Chan shoots Changbin another smile. This one is softer than the last few had been. After a moment, he stands up.

“Take a seat, Binnie, I’ll get your eggs for you,” he says in an impossibly fond tone, to the point that it makes Changbin wonder, briefly, how Chan can hold so much love in him.

“You sure?” he asks. “I can probably do it, it just dropped when I wasn’t expecting it.” Chan just chuckles.

“I’m sure. Plus, you’re still sleepy. Don’t want any more egg disasters,” he says with a wink, and Changbin knows his teasing is all an act. So, he settles for sticking his tongue out at him before giving him a begrudging smile in return as he takes a seat, still clutching the salt.

He must zone out for a while, because the next thing he knows Chan is placing a small plate with two peeled and sliced eggs and a spoon in front of him. Then he feels his hair being ruffled gently, followed by a kiss on the crown of his head. Changbin blushes. He forgot how impossibly sweet their leader gets when he’s taking care of them.

He blinks and a few seconds later Chan is sitting down in front of his laptop again, smiling as bright as ever and eating his own egg before he gets back to work.

Changbin smiles softly.

“Thank you, Channie,” he says, quiet but sincere. Chan’s eyes crinkling in happiness is all he needs to know he heard him, before he starts eating.

Minutes later, he’s done, and he gets up to put his plate in the sink. He glances down, having just now remembered the egg on the ground, and realizes Chan must have cleaned it up, and looking up it seems like he put the carton back in the fridge too. Changbin grins to himself.

He wants to do something for Chan too, but the only thing he can think of is trying to convince him to sleep, which has wildly varying results every time he tries. Then, he feels a metaphorical lightbulb appear over his head.

“Chaaaanniieee,” he whines suddenly. Chan blinks up at him in surprise.

“I’m too sleepy,” he says with an exaggerated pout. “You have to carry me back to bed, or I won’t make it on my own.” And oh, he _knows_ Chan can see right through it. But isn’t that kind of the point?

And Chan blinks once more, then his expression clears and he smiles knowingly at him.

“Well, we can’t have that, now can we?” he muses. Then he’s saving whatever he was working on, then saving it again, and then, miraculously, he’s closing his laptop.

_Success_!

Chan stands up, stretching as he does. As soon as he starts walking, Changbin decides to lay it on thick, poking a finger into his cheek.

“C’mooon we gotta go sleep now,” he adds in his high baby voice. Chan snickers.

“Baby Binnie has to sleep?” he responds in his own baby voice before he’s suddenly right in front of Changbin and wrapping him in a hug.

“We _both_ have to, ding dong,” he mumbles into Chan’s shoulder as he returns the hug, making Chan chuckle once again.

“Alright, fine,” he concedes. Then he adjusts his grip, and the next thing Changbin knows he’s being koala carried through the kitchen.

Chan stops to turn the lights out before taking them both to the bathroom for a quick wash up.

(Changbin does _not_ squeeze too much toothpaste onto his toothbrush and stare at the mess he made on the sink and make Chan wheeze from laughter, thank you very much.)

Then Chan’s carrying Changbin to bed, just short of tucking him in before Changbin pouts up at him.

“What is it, baby Binnie?” he asks softly.

“Cuddles?” Changbin asks. He scoots backward and opens up the blanket, hoping to have a snuggle buddy for the night.

And Chan can’t say no to that.

(They wake up in the morning to find that Felix has somehow joined the snuggle party and is laying on top of them both. They don’t question it, instead drowsily smile at each other before they fall back asleep for a while longer.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> henlo pals two things   
> a) whoops all my soft things end up with people falling asleep laskdjf  
> 2) do you think it would be better if i removed some tags and put individual tags in the chapter notes? i've been thinking about it and i don't want to make a monster amount of tags, so if anyone has an opinion on it i'm open for suggestions!   
> anyway! have a nice day!


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